June 25, 2022 - July 6, 2022
(Half) Cross-Country
This is it! It's the trip we've been looking forward to for a very long time! This is the trip that will take us across the northern half of the country, visiting many places for the very first time, if you can believe there are parts of the United States we haven't been to already. We're calling it a "half" cross country because we are only going one-way, and we're only driving half of it. We'll be flying into Minneapolis and taking a week and a half to drive out through Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, and Washington state, all the way to the Pacific Ocean. It will be our first time in Bismark, our first time across the northern sections of Montana, and our first time in south-east Washington. We plotted and planned this trip many months ago - long before gas prices doubled (tripled?), so Ryan might have to conserve fuel by staying below 100 miles per hour. But, with the weather expected to be sunny, dry, and in the 80s, this should still be an awesome trip!
Detailed Itinerary
Note All times listed are local to the area in which the activity is scheduled to occur!
DAY 1 - Saturday, June 25
Departing Flight
Airline
Southwest
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Flight Number
WN 2655
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Departure
Baltimore-BWI
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Arrival
Minneapolis-MSP
Departure Time
8:25 AM
​
Arrival Time
10:00 AM
Car Rental
Company
Alamo
Pick-up Time
4:00 PM
Vehicle Type
Minivan
Location
Minneapolis International Airport (MSP)
Activities
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10:00am: OK, so this is a bit tricky. Our car rental pickup time isn't until 4:00pm, which is when our flight was originally scheduled to land. However, shortly after booking, Southwest changed our nonstop to the morning with no other nonstops to MSP until late in the evening. Since car rental prices have quite literally quadrupled in price since we booked in January, it wasn't cost effective to change our rental car time. However, we will make an attempt to pick up our car early at a nominal fee. If it doesn't work out, we'll likely take the metro to Mall of America to hang out and grab lunch for a few hours. However, if it does work out, we'll continue with the plans outlined below.
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11:30am: Visit Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Reserve (Bloomington, MN).
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1:30pm: Visit the Minnesota State Capitol (St. Paul, MN).
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3:00pm: Potentially, visit Fort Snelling State Park (Bloomington, MN)
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5:00pm: Check into our hotel (Minneapolis, MN).
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6:00pm: Catch the Minnesota Twins vs. Colorado Rockies at Target Field (Minneapolis, MN).
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10:00pm: Return to hotel for the evening (Minneapolis, MN).
Hotel
Name
Element Minneapolis Downtown
Street
501 N 6th Ave
City, State
Minneapolis, MN
Phone
612-215-0099
DAY 2 - Sunday, June 26
Activities
-
10:00am: Today is the one "free" day of our trip. We might spend some time in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, or we might be adventurous enough to travel all the way to the International Peace Garden or Voyageurs National Park. Or, perhaps we'll catch up on some sleep before several days of very long, late car rides. Either way, we'll end up west of Fargo, North Dakota for the evening.
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10:00pm: Arrive at hotel.
Hotel
Name
Fairfield Inn & Suites Jamestown
Street
930 25th St SW
City, State
Jamestown, ND
Phone
DAY 3 - Monday, June 27
Activities
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10:30am: Visit North Dakota state capitol.
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3:00pm: Visit Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site (#280/423).
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7:00pm: Visit the southern portion of Theodore Roosevelt National Park (#281/423).
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11:00pm: Arrive at hotel.
Hotel
Name
TownePlace Suites Dickinson
Street
240 29th St W
City, State
Dickinson, ND
Phone
701-483-4724
DAY 4 - Tuesday, June 28
Activities
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10:30am: Visit the northern portion of Theodore Roosevelt National Park (#281/423).
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3:00pm: Visit Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site (#282/423).
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4:00pm: Begin the longest stretch of driving for this trip - 400 miles over 6.5 hours.
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11:30pm: Arrive at hotel.
Hotel
Name
SpringHill Suites Great Falls
Street
421 3rd St NW
City, State
Great Falls, MT
Phone
406-952-4444
DAY 5 - Wednesday, June 29
Activities
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10:00am: Visit Glacier National Park (#283/423). We plan to spend the entire day in this park, starting on the western end and finishing on the eastern end.
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6:00pm: Glacier NP is limiting visitors this year, so the only way we could guarantee our access was to reserve a campsite. Even though we don't intend on spending the night, we'll still check in and perhaps roast some marshmallows before heading out. Our location is in the Apgar Campground, site A22.
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11:30pm: Arrive at hotel.
Hotel
Name
Fairfield Inn & Suites Moscow
Street
1000 W Pullman Rd
City, State
Moscow, ID
Phone
208-882-4600
DAY 6 - Thursday, June 30
Activities
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9:00am: Visit Nez Perce National Historical Park (#284/423).
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11:00am: Visit Palouse Falls State Park
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1:30pm: Visit Whitman Mission National Historic Site (#285/423).
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4:00pm: Visit Manhattan Project National Historical Park (#286/423).
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8:00pm: Arrive at hotel (and finally get an almost full night's sleep!
Hotel
Name
Fairfield Inn & Suites Moses Lake
Street
421 3rd St NW
City, State
Moses Lake, WA
Phone
DAY 7 - Friday, July 1
Activities
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10:00am: Visit Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area (#287/423).
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3:00pm: Visit Lake Chelan National Recreation Area (#288/423).
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6:00pm: Arrive at hotel.
Hotel
Name
SpringHill Suites Wentachee
Street
1730 N Wenatchee Ave
City, State
Wenatchee, WA
Phone
509-667-2775
DAY 8 - Saturday, July 2
Activities
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11:00am: Visit Ross Lake National Recreation Area (#289/423).
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1:00pm: Visit North Cascades National Park (#290/423).
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8:00pm: Arrive at hotel.
Hotel
Name
Delta Hotels Everett
Street
3105 Pine St
City, State
Everett, WA
Phone
425-339-2000
DAY 9 - Sunday, July 3
Activities
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9:00am: Visit Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park (#291/423).
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12:00pm: Visit T-Mobile Park to catch the 1:15pm game, Seattle Mariners vs. Oakland Athletics.
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2:00pm: Alternately (although unlikely), we will visit Mount Rainier National Park in lieu of the game.
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8:00pm: Arrive at hotel.
Hotel
Name
Fairfield Inn & Suites Tacoma DuPont
Street
1515 Wilmington Dr
City, State
DuPont, WA
Phone
360-334-3314
DAY 10 - Monday, July 4
Activities
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10:00am: Visit Olympic National Park (#292/423). We will plan to spend the entire day in the park.
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11:30pm: Arrive at hotel.
Hotel
Name
Fairfield Inn & Suites Seattle Poulsbo
Street
22022 Quickstep Ct NW
City, State
Poulsbo, WA
Phone
360-394-0055
DAY 11 - Tuesday, July 5
Activities
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12:00pm: Visit Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve (#293/423).
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4:00pm: Visit San Juan Island National Historical Park (#294/423).
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10:30pm: Arrive at hotel.
Hotel
Name
SpringHill Suites Bellingham
Street
4040 Northwest Ave
City, State
Bellingham, WA
Phone
360-714-9600
DAY 12 - Wednesday, July 6
Activities
-
9:00am: Check out a local attraction, visit Canada, or, just chill out in the hotel for most of the morning and catch up on work.
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12:30pm: Drop off rental car.
Returning Flight (1 of 2)
Airline
Southwest
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Flight Number
WN 1333
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Departure
Bellingham-BLI
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Arrival
Las Vegas-LAS
Departure Time
2:30 PM
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Arrival Time
5:05 PM
Returning Flight (2 of 2)
Airline
Southwest
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Flight Number
WN 2699
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Departure
Las Vegas-LAS
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Arrival
Baltimore-BWI
Departure Time
5:55 PM
​
Arrival Time
1:30 AM